Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Carol Masser and I'm
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stanovk. We're here every day bringing
Speaker 1: you the latest news from the world to business and finance,
Speaker 1: plus technology, politics, economics, all furnishing the power of Business
Speaker 1: Week reporters and editors, not to mention our journalists and
Speaker 1: analysts in more than one twenty countries. You can download
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Business Week and iTunes, SoundCloud, or Bloomberg dot Com.
Speaker 1: You can also listen to our radio show at two
Speaker 1: pm Eastern Time on Bloomberg Radio, or watch us on
Speaker 1: YouTube search Bloomberg Clovel News. Hospitals generally across the US,
Speaker 1: they are parceling out beds for COVID patients, hunting for
Speaker 1: doctors and nurses as a delta variant sweeps from coast
Speaker 1: to coast. Let's get an update though on COVID. Let's
Speaker 1: bring in Dr Ty Glackwin, his director of cardiovascular analytics
Speaker 1: at Providence Sant Joseph's Health. You might recall we've talked
Speaker 1: to many of their team over the last year and
Speaker 1: a half. It is one of the largest health care
Speaker 1: systems in the US massive and it also has more
Speaker 1: than fifty hospitals in seven states, lots of clinics, lots
Speaker 1: of care of ours, and they were home to the
Speaker 1: first confirmed COVID case back in early Dr Gluckman joining
Speaker 1: us on the phone in Portland, Oregon. Dr Gluckman, nice
Speaker 1: to have you here, Um, Bloomberg Radio, how are you.
Speaker 1: I'm great. It's a pleasure to be with you. I
Speaker 1: hope you're staying safe and doing well. We are. We
Speaker 1: are trying and trying to, you know, assess all of
Speaker 1: the headlines that are out there. Um, you know, you guys.
Speaker 1: What's interesting is have done a study recently, and I
Speaker 1: think this is something that we need to bring to
Speaker 1: everybody's attention about what's happening to some patients. And we're
Speaker 1: not talking about COVID patients. Why don't you get us
Speaker 1: up to speed on that. Yeah, So, for many of
Speaker 1: us in the early surge in the spring of last year,
Speaker 1: in we're observing the hospitalization rates, emergency department rates, people
Speaker 1: coming to the hospital. We're wayed down. And we've seen
Speaker 1: several reports that have come out in the United States
Speaker 1: and outside the United States suggesting a reduction in hospitalization
Speaker 1: rates and even heightened mortality death rates for people hospitalized.
Speaker 1: So we sought to better understand the cross are six
Speaker 1: of our states and fifty one hospitals across a broad
Speaker 1: range of different conditions. What were the hospitalization rates looking like,
Speaker 1: What were the death rates looking like, both in the
Speaker 1: spring surge of as well as the fall surge late
Speaker 1: this past fall, and what what did you find? So,
Speaker 1: you know, a bunch to the disappointment, We saw similar
Speaker 1: things that had been observed previously, so in the spring surge,
Speaker 1: and this is compared to a period of time pre pandemics.
Speaker 1: We saw that our unplanned hospitalizations, so these are people
Speaker 1: coming in for urgent conditions, and patients with COVID nineteen
Speaker 1: were excluded from the studies, so these are unrelated to
Speaker 1: COVID nineteen hospitalizations. Unplanned hospitalizations declined very abruptly, dropping by
Speaker 1: as much as fifty five zero percent from a period
Speaker 1: of early March through mid May, and then there was
Speaker 1: a rise back up again beyond that initial surge, but
Speaker 1: not to the same rates that the otherwise would have
Speaker 1: been in terms of hospitalizations falling again in a fall
Speaker 1: period from late October through late December as well. And
Speaker 1: so we observed that during periods of surge of COVID nineteen.
Speaker 1: We saw that hospitalizations across our different states fell precipitously
Speaker 1: during both periods of time. In addition to this, we
Speaker 1: looked at mortality rates adjusted in hospital death rates for
Speaker 1: people who are hospitalized during those periods of time and
Speaker 1: those rows during both periods. So while hospitalization rates were falling,
Speaker 1: there was an increase in the death rates for people
Speaker 1: during that initial spring and again in that false surge
Speaker 1: as well. Very disheartening across the different states and across
Speaker 1: a broad range of conditions that we evaluated. And so
Speaker 1: the conclusion here is that essentially people aren't getting the
Speaker 1: care that they need in hospitals, either putting it off
Speaker 1: or ignoring things, whether out of concerns about being in
Speaker 1: hospitals or what have you, I'm assuming, and so as
Speaker 1: a result, that is leading to potentially complications in their health,
Speaker 1: and it sounds like also leading to death. Yeah, So
Speaker 1: there are a bunch of potential takeaways from this, but
Speaker 1: one of which is is that there has been a
Speaker 1: spillover effect during the pandemic. And while we can't definitively
Speaker 1: determine why people stayed away or why people died at
Speaker 1: a higher rate. One of the biggest concerns that are
Speaker 1: to take away from this is that patients, out of
Speaker 1: concern of potentially contracting infection with stars Coby two getting
Speaker 1: COVID nineteen, that they stayed away from hospitals, from emergency departments,
Speaker 1: from clinics, and therefore when they ultimately presented for these urgent,
Speaker 1: unplanned hospitalizations, they were that much sicker when they ultimately
Speaker 1: were hospitalized, and that accounts for their higher mortality rate.
Speaker 1: How are you do in an outreach to your community.
Speaker 1: Obviously they are patients, are doctors who have patients um
Speaker 1: that they know maybe are in compromise states or could be.
Speaker 1: How are you reaching out to your community to tackle this.
Speaker 1: It's a great question, and it was important during the
Speaker 1: spring sturge. It's important the false surge. But I can
Speaker 1: tell you we weren't anticipating when we initially designed the
Speaker 1: study that we'd be sitting in a surge today going
Speaker 1: on and across the United States, and so I think
Speaker 1: it's really important to unambiguously emphatically let our patients know
Speaker 1: that our clinics, are emergency departments, are hospitals, are safe
Speaker 1: places to receive care, and so in patients who are
Speaker 1: concerned about their health, they should not hesitate to contact
Speaker 1: emergency medical services, call, come to their clinics, reach out
Speaker 1: to their clinicians, come to the emergency department, because the
Speaker 1: consequences of delaying their care can be quite significant. I
Speaker 1: want to get back to Dr Ty Gluckman. He's director
Speaker 1: of the Center for Cardiovasular Analytics at Providence St. Joseph's
Speaker 1: Health with us on the phone from Portland, Oregon. You know,
Speaker 1: it's interesting, Dr Gluckman, this is something that we have
Speaker 1: talked about with many members of the medical community. Throughout
Speaker 1: the pandemic. There was that concern and understandably as hospitals
Speaker 1: were overwhelmed that they had to prioritize COVID patients. How
Speaker 1: are hospitals managing both COVID patients and regular routine medical
Speaker 1: treatments at this point. Are you finding where there are
Speaker 1: areas of surge that you can't manage both, or have
Speaker 1: hospitals figured out a way to do both at the
Speaker 1: same time. Yeah, it's a great question, and I think
Speaker 1: early on we were struggling. Certainly during the initial spring
Speaker 1: surgeon I will say across all of our hospitals. While
Speaker 1: we've seen in our communities rising CAITH counts, I think
Speaker 1: we're doing a great job of balancing both and making
Speaker 1: sure that patients feel safe if they're dealing and struggling
Speaker 1: with COVID nineteen to receive the appropriate care they need
Speaker 1: if they need it in our emergency departments are in
Speaker 1: our hospital. But similarly, for those individuals that are not
Speaker 1: dealing with COVID Night Team, but are dealing with critical
Speaker 1: illness urgent medical conditions, they should feel very comfortable in
Speaker 1: seeking out care. We found ways to be able to
Speaker 1: provide that care in the outpatient setting and certainly in
Speaker 1: our hospitals and emergency departments as well. Yeah, it does
Speaker 1: feel like you know, we said man I said so
Speaker 1: many times, we didn't have the playbook right, None of
Speaker 1: us had the playbook pre pandemic, despite warnings that have
Speaker 1: been out there for years. It's something like this would
Speaker 1: ultimately come. Um, how has that playbook filled up in
Speaker 1: your view that we are in a better position even
Speaker 1: with these new surges and what other new surges may
Speaker 1: come as a result of future variants. How is that
Speaker 1: playbook better equipped at this point? Yeah, I believe that
Speaker 1: early on we were struggling even in things like having
Speaker 1: adequate amounts of PPE, making sure that we had ventilators
Speaker 1: for those patients who had lung related conditions that warranted it.
Speaker 1: I think today now we're just trying to make sure
Speaker 1: that we are prioritizing here for those people who need
Speaker 1: it most in our emergency departments and in our hospitals.
Speaker 1: I want to reaffirm that you know, our hospitals and
Speaker 1: emergency departments are safe places to receive care, and we
Speaker 1: have the ability to care for people who need care
Speaker 1: in those different specific settings. UM. I think also we
Speaker 1: figured out a way to be able to have our
Speaker 1: clinical teams UH and the range of different clinicians and
Speaker 1: care team members involved, whether it's in the outpatient setting,
Speaker 1: leveraging where appropriate virtual care, tell health strategies in the hospital,
Speaker 1: making sure that we're adequately resourced to be able to
Speaker 1: attend to all the needs patients have. So I feel
Speaker 1: like we're at a very good place to be able
Speaker 1: to deliver the care that's needed, whether it's related to
Speaker 1: COVID nineteen or it's an unplanned need to come to
Speaker 1: the hospital for something completely unrelated to COVID. Night Team
Speaker 1: I Almoso curious, you know, as you talk about this
Speaker 1: study that you did, UH and people who are maybe
Speaker 1: putting off, you know, coming into hospitals for different reasons,
Speaker 1: how much of kind of routine treatment is still down
Speaker 1: from where it was at pre pandemic levels. So I
Speaker 1: think our capacity to be able to accommodate a lot
Speaker 1: of basic preventive care and then usual chronic medical care
Speaker 1: is back up to where we need it to be.
Speaker 1: I think one of the challenges that exist is how
Speaker 1: do we reassure patients who are dealing with an acute
Speaker 1: unexpected illness or those that are continuing to seek treatment
Speaker 1: for chronic, longstanding medical conditions that they need to connect
Speaker 1: with their care teams, with their clinicians, whether in the
Speaker 1: outpatient setting or elsewhere, to make sure that they're getting
Speaker 1: the care that they need. For quite a while, patients
Speaker 1: at a much greater weight than we would otherwise want,
Speaker 1: we're putting off or potentially foregoing care, delaying care. Um.
Speaker 1: I think it's long pass ado that we need to
Speaker 1: make sure that patients with chronic illnesses receive all of
Speaker 1: the on getting care that they need and again be
Speaker 1: prepared in the clinic setting to be responsive to people
Speaker 1: who have acute EXAs, asturbations of longstanding medical conditions, or
Speaker 1: something altogether new. And for those peoples that need to
Speaker 1: go to the emergency department understanding it's a safe place,
Speaker 1: they should not hesitate to call nine C E M.
Speaker 1: S Services when getting to the emergency department. The capacity
Speaker 1: you said is back to where it needs to be.
Speaker 1: What about utilization though, That's what I'm curious about. Where
Speaker 1: patients are actually tapping hospitals. How much down is that
Speaker 1: from pre pandemic levels. We still across the United States,
Speaker 1: and I would say in our health system are seeing
Speaker 1: lower rates of using utilizing our emergency departments that we
Speaker 1: would otherwise like. UM, so we know that there is
Speaker 1: a capacity that exceeds what is being utilized at least
Speaker 1: comparing that to pre pandemic levels going back prior to
Speaker 1: March of and so we know that there are more
Speaker 1: people out there who need our services that are actually
Speaker 1: utilizing it. Unrelated to COVID nineteen and so. Uh, it's
Speaker 1: opportunities like this to re affirm to patients that they
Speaker 1: should feel very comfortab able seeking the care that they need.
Speaker 1: That's true in our clinics. It does vary across different conditions,
Speaker 1: But regardless of the condition, regardless of the chronicity or
Speaker 1: acuity of their condition, we have the capacity and the
Speaker 1: ability to be able to help take care of you. So,
Speaker 1: because we have you here, I've got to ask you,
Speaker 1: what are you seeing in terms of COVID cases right now?
Speaker 1: So we're seeing upticks. I'm out in Portland, Oregon, and
Speaker 1: we're seeing an uptick overall compared to where we have been.
Speaker 1: I think it's reflective of several parts of the country, UM,
Speaker 1: in our communities UM. And it is disconcerting. UM. And
Speaker 1: I think for many of us, we thought we would
Speaker 1: we be well behind this, whether we're in the clinical
Speaker 1: community or not. UM, it's very disheartening to see the
Speaker 1: rising cases and rising hospitalization rates. And while it's a
Speaker 1: rate that is UH and an ability to be able
Speaker 1: to tackle it that's much better equipped than we were
Speaker 1: a year ago and earlier. UM, I would say, it's
Speaker 1: still is challenging for those of us who thought we'd
Speaker 1: be in a much better place than we are today.
Speaker 1: Is it typically younger? Is it people who are unvaccinated,
Speaker 1: which is certainly some of the stories that we've done
Speaker 1: a lot here at Bloomberg is that the trends that
Speaker 1: you're seeing, we're continuing to see that individuals who are
Speaker 1: who have not been vaccinated disproportionately represent individuals who are
Speaker 1: coming down with COVID nineteen and certainly requiring hospitalizations as well. UM.
Speaker 1: And I think this is again a reaffirmation of the
Speaker 1: importance of vaccination as the single most important individual tactic
Speaker 1: to help prevent severe illness and illness in general. Are
Speaker 1: you seeing as a result in uptick in vaccinations um
Speaker 1: as a result of the rise in delta cases once again,
Speaker 1: so we've been fortunate Oregon to at least succeed what
Speaker 1: the national average has been in terms of vaccination. That
Speaker 1: being said, there's always room for improvement, and so we
Speaker 1: continue to reinforce pretty emphatically the importance of getting vaccinated
Speaker 1: for all individuals who are eligible. UH. It is a
Speaker 1: key tactic to be able to help mitigate the risk
Speaker 1: of consequences. And for those of us who have been
Speaker 1: at this for an excess of fifteen months, it is
Speaker 1: extraordinarily disheartening to see individuals with severe illness or ultimately
Speaker 1: succumbing to something that is ultimately preventable. And I have
Speaker 1: to say within my sphere of friends and family and colleagues,
Speaker 1: I mean I do know people who have had some
Speaker 1: really difficult illnesses and have gotten incredible care throughout the
Speaker 1: pandemic um and just and didn't put things off and
Speaker 1: couldn't it was really kind of a life and death issue.
Speaker 1: Having said that, you know, remind our audience that's something
Speaker 1: that can be in the early stages or something that
Speaker 1: is manageable, how quickly it can become a much more
Speaker 1: difficult health situation and really quickly, I mean not you
Speaker 1: speaking quickly, but how the situation get involved very quickly. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: and so people can go from a relatively stable state
Speaker 1: to one being very decompensated very quickly. And our range
Speaker 1: of therapeutic options therapies that we have available have significantly
Speaker 1: improved compared to where we were more than a year ago.
Speaker 1: So for those individuals that have been infected with stars
Speaker 1: SCOBE two who have developed COVID nineteen, seeking medical attention
Speaker 1: as soon as possible is of key importance because our
Speaker 1: range of therapies are much greater than what we had
Speaker 1: more than a year ago. I think the second thing
Speaker 1: is just to reaffirm that for all individuals who are eligible.
Speaker 1: Vaccination is a key importance, and I would say to
Speaker 1: all of my clinical colleagues across the United States and elsewhere,
Speaker 1: UM I spend each day when I'm in clinic asking
Speaker 1: each patient about whether or not they've been vaccinated for
Speaker 1: those that are eligible, and really, at least under Betty,
Speaker 1: getting a better understanding of why people may be resistant.
Speaker 1: I think for those of us that are in the
Speaker 1: clinical community, we are often amongst the most trusted individuals
Speaker 1: when work with our patients and loved ones, and they
Speaker 1: are more likely to listen to us, perhaps than others,
Speaker 1: and so we play a key role in helping to
Speaker 1: help patients and their loved ones understand why if there
Speaker 1: are misgivings or uncertainty about getting vaccinated, how some of
Speaker 1: the concerns can be addressed through just discussion talk and
Speaker 1: making sure they understand where we're coming from. We understand
Speaker 1: where they're coming from and why we're advocating strongly for vaccination. So,
Speaker 1: just as we wrap up, I wonder Dr Gluckman, if
Speaker 1: you have any confidence in terms of the visibility of
Speaker 1: where we are six months from now or twelve months
Speaker 1: from now when it comes to the pandemic and kind
Speaker 1: of getting back to quote unquote normal, although I don't
Speaker 1: think it's it's going to be a new normal, right
Speaker 1: because we've lived through so much. Yeah, I think unfortunately,
Speaker 1: this is going to be with us for a while.
Speaker 1: And my hope is that the case rates continue to fall.
Speaker 1: But getting vaccinated to to gave the risk of new
Speaker 1: variants developing is going to be of key importance. The
Speaker 1: other thing I would say is a key takeaway is
Speaker 1: for those of us that work within health systems, you know,
Speaker 1: never in my lifetime would I ever have expected, nor
Speaker 1: have ever experienced anything like this. And so how do
Speaker 1: we prevent the next pandemic, the next major medical problem
Speaker 1: that does occur. How do we make sure we're well prepared,
Speaker 1: that we as a health care system communicate very clearly
Speaker 1: too at risk individuals to patients what is important, so
Speaker 1: we don't see the direct consequences as a result of
Speaker 1: the pandemic and infection, but also as our study sought
Speaker 1: to evaluate the indirect consequences, the secondary or carryover effects
Speaker 1: as a result of fear uncertainty, making sure that health systems, hospitals,
Speaker 1: emergency departments, clinics are safe places and that we're well
Speaker 1: prepared to take care of patients regardless. Have you guys
Speaker 1: at Providence St. Joseph Health, have you guys taken specific
Speaker 1: steps so that you're ready next time around? Continue much
Speaker 1: like we're in the surge today, to go through innumerable
Speaker 1: steps to make sure we're well prepared with multiple redundancies.
Speaker 1: And I really want to credit our leadership in our
Speaker 1: organization who has done a superbly stellar job of making
Speaker 1: sure that we are well prepared for additional waves should
Speaker 1: they occur, as well as the next pandemic. We spend
Speaker 1: a lot of time preparing for this, for other types
Speaker 1: of disasters, whether they be natural, whether they be infectious. UM.
Speaker 1: It doesn't take anything away from the fact that we
Speaker 1: continue as a health care system to struggle with the
Speaker 1: toll of just this being such a long lasting UH
Speaker 1: seeming like it has never ended UH events. But nonetheless,
Speaker 1: we will get through this UH. And importantly, we want
Speaker 1: to make sure that all of our patients stay safe
Speaker 1: as much as possible, as we continue to make the
Speaker 1: therapies available, as we continue to address non COVID night
Speaker 1: team related illness along with that related to the infection
Speaker 1: as well. Well. Listen, thank you so much for all
Speaker 1: this time today. We really covered a lot of ground
Speaker 1: and I really appreciate it and gave our listeners and
Speaker 1: viewers on YouTube a lot to think about. Dr ty Gluckman,
Speaker 1: thank you, and be well and stay safe. He's director
Speaker 1: of the Center for Cardiovascular Analytics at Providence St. Joseph Health.
Speaker 1: It's a massive system. He joined us on the phone
Speaker 1: from Portland, Oregon, talking about those who are not necessarily
Speaker 1: getting the care they need, also giving us an update
Speaker 1: on the COVID cases that they are specifically seeing. This
Speaker 1: is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Bloomberg Quick
Speaker 1: Takes Tim Stenovic on Bloomberg Radio. All right, there's a
Speaker 1: lot of news on the political front today. It's not
Speaker 1: just about the resignation of New York Governor Andrew Cromo,
Speaker 1: which we have been covering here at Bloomberg. Is also,
Speaker 1: of course news out of the nation's capital, the Senate
Speaker 1: passing that more than half a trillion dollar infrastructure plan.
Speaker 1: It would represent, as I said, a massive burst of spending,
Speaker 1: the largest that we've seen on a federal level in decades,
Speaker 1: and it would be a pretty big, big victory for
Speaker 1: President Biden. In his economic agenda. So let's are with
Speaker 1: that infrastructure passage. Bloomberg News Congression Attacks reporter Laura Davison
Speaker 1: is up on Capitol Hill in d C. Laura, good
Speaker 1: to have you here. It it was a major step forward,
Speaker 1: but it ain't done yet, right, correct? It is. The
Speaker 1: bill has the Senate. The infrastructure bill has passed, but
Speaker 1: they've already started work on the budget resolution. This is
Speaker 1: the three point five trillion dollar bill. Uh, that will
Speaker 1: kind of complete the rest of Joe Biden's agenda. So
Speaker 1: they did sort of the roads and bridges proportion earlier today,
Speaker 1: and now they're beginning, uh, the second portion, which is
Speaker 1: looking at kind of that suck infrastructure investments into healthcare,
Speaker 1: into education and childcare, um and as well as a
Speaker 1: whole bunch of climate change preventing uh different mechanisms as well. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's massive in terms of spending. Hey, you know, I
Speaker 1: wanted to ask you though, before we got into a
Speaker 1: little bit more of the particulars about what's next in
Speaker 1: terms of this process for infrastructure spending. Is what's everyone
Speaker 1: talking about up on Capitol Hill? Is it about infrastructure
Speaker 1: or is it about the resignation of Governor Cuomo. No
Speaker 1: today has really been and um, a lot a lot
Speaker 1: of of of infrastructure, you know, Cuomo, certainly this was
Speaker 1: news in convery went by a little bit of surprise,
Speaker 1: but though really every major Democrat in the country had
Speaker 1: already called for his resignation, so this was more of
Speaker 1: a um, you know, kind of seeing that happen and
Speaker 1: now moving on. I think Democrats in particular are you know,
Speaker 1: looking to focus on their policy wins and maybe not
Speaker 1: so much on the scandals and the party well. And
Speaker 1: it's interesting though, but you know this better than most
Speaker 1: that when there's somebody who is very well known within
Speaker 1: the political party, uh a face of the political party
Speaker 1: in many ways, or very outspoken, and when you think
Speaker 1: about you know, prominent Democrats, certainly Andrew Como because of
Speaker 1: his family legacy, because of him he and his own
Speaker 1: you know, involvement in government on a federal level and
Speaker 1: of course in the New York state level. You know,
Speaker 1: you do wonder about what are the implications for the
Speaker 1: party or for a current administration. Are there any connections
Speaker 1: that can be made that makes you know, some Democrats
Speaker 1: a little bit nervous or not necessarily you know, it's
Speaker 1: it's not a huge issue, but you really do see, um,
Speaker 1: you know, kind of this issue has something that has
Speaker 1: been kind of dog Democrats of how did they address um,
Speaker 1: you know, kind of how women are treated. And then
Speaker 1: the whole New Too movement. If we saw um Al Frankin,
Speaker 1: senator from Minnesota get pushed out by members of his
Speaker 1: own party several years ago. Um, and I think the
Speaker 1: the party maybe felt, uh, some people felt like they
Speaker 1: maybe moved a little too quickly and didn't fully examine
Speaker 1: the situation there. Um. But with with Cuomo, it was
Speaker 1: like a little bit more clear the path forward and
Speaker 1: that uh that really that the once that report came out.
Speaker 1: That but he really didn't have anyone backing him, and
Speaker 1: that was a clear decision for Democrats to make. Because
Speaker 1: New York of course a big and important state, no
Speaker 1: doubt about it for the Democrats going forward, this new
Speaker 1: governor coming in, uh, the deputy governor, how does that
Speaker 1: change in terms of collaborations working together on a federal
Speaker 1: and state level. Well, you know, you cool had really
Speaker 1: been sort of a a leader both policy wise on
Speaker 1: COVID response with kind of the theig new governor coming in, Um,
Speaker 1: she's really going to be more holding down the porch
Speaker 1: than sort of being a leader. She's just trying to
Speaker 1: kind of keep the ship on track. Um, for New
Speaker 1: York may find its influence over policy debates a little
Speaker 1: bit diminished in the coming years. This is you know,
Speaker 1: of course New York, UM is still a huge state.
Speaker 1: Lots of representatives from New York. But you know, we
Speaker 1: also saw in the last census that they lost, uh,
Speaker 1: they lost more in representative So this is uh, you know,
Speaker 1: could it kind of in hindsight proved to be sort
Speaker 1: of a pivotal point for New York or influence um
Speaker 1: in the Democrat in the Democratic Party and in Washington. Well,
Speaker 1: it certainly pivotal. And that Kathy Hockle, of course, the
Speaker 1: Lieutenant governor to become the first female governor for the
Speaker 1: state of New York in that transition happening in the
Speaker 1: next couple of weeks. All right, So go back to infrastructure.
Speaker 1: I know that's been like on your mind, on all
Speaker 1: of our minds so much. So tell us about what's
Speaker 1: next here in this process. So the Senate passed the
Speaker 1: bill and they now kick it over to the House
Speaker 1: where the House will have to consider this. UM. We
Speaker 1: don't have a set timeline for when that's going to happen. Uh.
Speaker 1: You just kind of warring factions in the House right now,
Speaker 1: with Moderate saying they want to vote on it aston
Speaker 1: as possible, Progressive saying they want to see that this
Speaker 1: other bill play out, this three point five trillion dollar
Speaker 1: bill moved before they want to vote on the bi
Speaker 1: partisan infrastructure bill. It's kind of a mess. Frankly. You know,
Speaker 1: this is something that Pelosi is going to have to
Speaker 1: sort out how to keep with all the various tents
Speaker 1: within the party happy um and and keeping people marching
Speaker 1: the babist sing around. You know, she only can afford
Speaker 1: to lose three votes. She basically has to keep all
Speaker 1: of her members together. She's done a pretty a good
Speaker 1: job successfully of of doing that so far. But she's
Speaker 1: got a real big test coming up here this fall.
Speaker 1: What about Republican support, Republicans support for the infrastructure bill?
Speaker 1: It this is uh, you know it it's seen as
Speaker 1: though you will get some Republicans you know, in the House.
Speaker 1: You got uh ver, sorry, in the Senate there were
Speaker 1: nine team Republicans have joined with all fifty Democrats. Uh.
Speaker 1: Not expecting to see quite as much of uh, you know,
Speaker 1: kind of percentage wise in the House. Um, the House
Speaker 1: is just a little bit more conservative. Um. And and
Speaker 1: members who necessarily don't get points back at home from
Speaker 1: doing bipartisan things. However, Um, there's a lot of money
Speaker 1: that goes to a lot of states, including a lot
Speaker 1: of Republican states, so you could see, um, some lawmakers
Speaker 1: come over and vote for that. That's what's always interesting, Laura,
Speaker 1: I mean you follow this because this is a massive
Speaker 1: spending that all states will participate in this, and that
Speaker 1: means for the most part, right, everybody has something to
Speaker 1: take back home to their constituents. Yes, this is really um,
Speaker 1: you know, kind of why infrastructure has been seen as
Speaker 1: an area of by partners and cooperation for a long
Speaker 1: long time because there's something in it for everybody. Every state,
Speaker 1: every district has rose has bridges, um, you know, relies
Speaker 1: on different transportation systems, any energy transmission, broadband. Everyone really
Speaker 1: gets a lot of benefit here. So uh that that's
Speaker 1: why it's sort of been uh you know, kind of
Speaker 1: frustrating with some lawmakers are saying, you know, why can't
Speaker 1: we get an agreement to spend money on improved the
Speaker 1: facilities in our districts. Then finally today they were able
Speaker 1: to do it well. And Nancy Pelosi, um Speaker of
Speaker 1: the House, she has been very firm about saying that
Speaker 1: she wants to make sure she doesn't want to vote
Speaker 1: on the bipartisan package until the Senate has passed the
Speaker 1: broader economic plan. Is there any wiggle room or do
Speaker 1: you feel what you're hearing from and the reporting that
Speaker 1: you're doing, that she's not going to change her tune
Speaker 1: on that, and that means going for everything right rather
Speaker 1: than kind of parsing it, you know, part one versus
Speaker 1: the second portion. Yeah, the timing year is going to
Speaker 1: be really really difficult to manage and to keep everybody
Speaker 1: in line. You know, this is really the issue vexing
Speaker 1: Pelosi this week of you know, how quickly, how far
Speaker 1: apart can the bill bills be voted on it? You know,
Speaker 1: one uh is coming close to being ready. Can she
Speaker 1: go ahead and move on the infrastructure bill first? Can
Speaker 1: she go ahead and clear that this is you know,
Speaker 1: we're gonna have to see how this plays out. We
Speaker 1: really don't know yet. Just she's got a lot of
Speaker 1: people asking a lot of different things and threatening to
Speaker 1: withhold their support, which she needs if they don't get
Speaker 1: their way on the process. And let's remind everybody this
Speaker 1: package is infrastructure package. UM includes about billion and new
Speaker 1: spending for roads and bridges, seventy three billion for power
Speaker 1: grid upgrades, six d six billion for rail and Amtrak,
Speaker 1: sixty five billion for broadband expansion. Also provides fifty billion
Speaker 1: for clean water and thirty nine billion for transit. So
Speaker 1: you know, as as you and the team and they're reporting,
Speaker 1: every state would feel the effects in some way. So
Speaker 1: President Bond is gonna make We're expecting to make some
Speaker 1: comments any moment now, and I know you'll be listening.
Speaker 1: We will be as well. What's his mission at this point,
Speaker 1: especially when it comes to the public at large. Do
Speaker 1: they care? Can they be influential? Yeah? I mean this
Speaker 1: is uh the President will make the case that look,
Speaker 1: this is you know, a bill that will touch everybody
Speaker 1: in their lives. It will make uh, you know, transportation safer,
Speaker 1: it will make transportation cleaner. You know, it will give
Speaker 1: people access to things like broad bands where there's still
Speaker 1: you know, large spots of the country that don't have
Speaker 1: the access to uh low cost high speed internet UM.
Speaker 1: And he's also going to make the case of look
Speaker 1: are you I when I was running, when you voted
Speaker 1: for me, I said I was going to you know,
Speaker 1: work with the Senate cut deal, cut by partisan to
Speaker 1: get stuff done. Um, And he really can have you know,
Speaker 1: a pretty good example to to hold up here and say, look, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, they said this wasn't possible. They you know,
Speaker 1: said that the Senate's broken. And we've proved today, at
Speaker 1: least for a brief moment, that the Senate can work
Speaker 1: together to come up with with these big bipartisan deals. Hey,
Speaker 1: one other thing I just wanted to bring up, how
Speaker 1: do we pay for this? That's the other side of
Speaker 1: the equation. Yes, well, so that is really the question here.
Speaker 1: You know about half of it. Uh, it adds to
Speaker 1: the deficit. That's what the Congression Budget Office says. But
Speaker 1: they really have a whole smattering. They really searched the
Speaker 1: couch quesions in Washington to find the money. Did they
Speaker 1: did something like the new cryptocurrency reporting requirements. They're using
Speaker 1: some of the COVID relief funds that never got spent.
Speaker 1: They're repurposing those to cover these costs um as well
Speaker 1: as UM doing a fee on some UM some polluting
Speaker 1: company is kind of little odds and ends here, uh,
Speaker 1: to come up with the with the a couple hundred
Speaker 1: billion dollars to pay for it. And let's not forget
Speaker 1: that there's a major push by a group of U. S.
Speaker 1: Lawmakers to expand the federal deduction for state and local
Speaker 1: town axes. Right, And that's something just quickly that's also
Speaker 1: being worked on. Yes, that's in the reconciliation build. That's
Speaker 1: something that several Democrats and the House that said they
Speaker 1: won't vote on the state and local tax deduction. It's
Speaker 1: a huge deal, particularly for New York, particularly for Democrats. Um,
Speaker 1: and I think it's there's a very strong chance that
Speaker 1: we'll see some form of that tax deduction being susbanded
Speaker 1: at any build that passes later this year. Amen, sister,
Speaker 1: I live here in the New York area. We certainly
Speaker 1: have all felt it. Hey, Laura, thank you so much.
Speaker 1: I really appreciate that and gave us a great setup
Speaker 1: for when the President makes some comments on that infrastructure plan.
Speaker 1: All right, That of course was Laura David's and she
Speaker 1: is our Bloomberg News congressional tax reporter joining us up
Speaker 1: on Capitol Hill. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with
Speaker 1: Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio.
Speaker 1: So we talked about this Business Week story yesterday on air.
Speaker 1: It's about how restaurants and restaurant owners are continuing to
Speaker 1: pivot in our pandemic and post pandemic world, and that
Speaker 1: means often be coming creative, innovative, changing menus, and sometimes
Speaker 1: playing bouncer. This story on the Bloomberg and at Bloomberg
Speaker 1: business Week dot Com. Here with more on what's going on.
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Business Week editor Joel Webber on the access line
Speaker 1: in Massachuset Sits along with Bloomberg News investigative reporter Polymosens,
Speaker 1: who wrote this story along with Our Pursuits Food editor
Speaker 1: Kate Creator Polly on the phone in New York City. Joel, Man,
Speaker 1: those restaurants, I know, they're happy that the doors are open,
Speaker 1: but man, it's not easy open for some um and
Speaker 1: that's where the drama comes in. And and just like
Speaker 1: sort of at the beginning of the pandemic, when the
Speaker 1: restaurants were really like front lines of sorts. Um uh
Speaker 1: there there again. And that's um sort of what Polly
Speaker 1: and Kate Creator pointed out and got to talk to
Speaker 1: a lot of people who are dealing with this. So, Polly,
Speaker 1: what did you hear? Well, one of the biggest things
Speaker 1: that we heard was just surprise. Restaurants feel not entirely
Speaker 1: prepared to deal with this, but they're also willing to
Speaker 1: roll with the punch. Shows they were certainly not resistant
Speaker 1: to the idea. They just are going to need a
Speaker 1: little bit of time to acclimate because not only are
Speaker 1: they going to have to check all of their diners,
Speaker 1: they're also going to have to check all of their
Speaker 1: staff because the policy applies to their employees as well
Speaker 1: as to the diners. Well, it's this is what's crazy,
Speaker 1: I mean, and we're talking about this increasingly right because
Speaker 1: in order for people to maybe go to restaurants, they
Speaker 1: when it feel safe, especially if they're inside, and so
Speaker 1: as a result, these owners are going are really having
Speaker 1: to police who's in there. I mean, it's it's it's
Speaker 1: like checking your ideas when you were seventeen or eighteen. Uh,
Speaker 1: this is what they're doing. Polly. Yeah, absolutely, This is
Speaker 1: like the ultimate I D check where you'll have to
Speaker 1: show your idea and then you'll have to show your
Speaker 1: vaccine card. And just like they do with the ideas,
Speaker 1: they're going to have to be on the lookout for
Speaker 1: fakes when it comes to the vaccine cards. So so
Speaker 1: talk to us about the excel fior paths and sort
Speaker 1: of like what the people you talk to, how do
Speaker 1: they how do they feel about it in practice? So
Speaker 1: the good thing about the excels you pass is that
Speaker 1: it is a pretty thorough app. However, in practice, it
Speaker 1: is possible to pass the phone in between two diners,
Speaker 1: you know, two folks that might be going out to
Speaker 1: dinner together. They in one case, the actually heard that
Speaker 1: the hostess and the owner of the restaurant she caught
Speaker 1: them passing the app between them. So while the app
Speaker 1: is certainly sorrow, it certainly seems to work well. You
Speaker 1: do run the risk of people just passing the phone
Speaker 1: between the two of them in order to circumvent that
Speaker 1: vaccination mandate. Yeah, I mean it's pretty wild that that's
Speaker 1: going on. And I mean it's even trickier as you
Speaker 1: and Kate report in the story, Um, Polly is that
Speaker 1: you talk about for someone it might be an Asian restaurant.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's not just you know, policing when it
Speaker 1: comes to vaccine, But there's also other factors at play
Speaker 1: that makes it even more difficult for restaurant owners. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: it is just one more hurdle that they were going
Speaker 1: to have to deal with, and they've had eighteen months
Speaker 1: of hurdles. And some restaurants they're going to be able
Speaker 1: to afford to offload this responsibility to security guards, but
Speaker 1: that's not something that's feasible for all restaurants. And so
Speaker 1: what is um the general sort of like mood that
Speaker 1: you get from talking to everybody that you've got to
Speaker 1: talk with and look like it feels like forever, like
Speaker 1: these eighteen months and it's been this roller coaster ride
Speaker 1: where suddenly everything had to be uh to go and
Speaker 1: then you know in room dinning started back um and
Speaker 1: but then they took away the to go cocktails. Like
Speaker 1: what's the just what's the mood when you talk to
Speaker 1: the folks who are really in charge of these businesses? Yeah,
Speaker 1: the mood is definitely very There's some folks to say,
Speaker 1: you know, we'll deal with it and we're going to
Speaker 1: be okay, and then there's some folks who just anticipate
Speaker 1: more problems down the road. And I think overall the
Speaker 1: mood is just people getting used to constant change. There
Speaker 1: are no more surprises, you know, everything is now a
Speaker 1: surprise in the dining industry. So a lot of the
Speaker 1: restaurateurs who we talked to, they have gotten to the
Speaker 1: used rolling with the punchers, even if they're not thrilled
Speaker 1: with all the punches. I love. There's a quote from
Speaker 1: is its Goot Gerber that's in a story, and it says,
Speaker 1: we've dealt with intoxicated people, irrational people. Uh, and he
Speaker 1: says our people are skilled at de escalating problems. I mean, yes,
Speaker 1: that's so true. But it does feel like this takes it,
Speaker 1: you know, to a whole other level. Absolutely, I think
Speaker 1: that this definitely does ticket to a whole different level.
Speaker 1: And you know, we have seen, unfortunately in the past,
Speaker 1: people do get very violent and very upset with folks
Speaker 1: who are working the door. That's something that service workers
Speaker 1: at grocery stores and that retailers dealt with a lot
Speaker 1: in the early days of the pandemic. You know, in
Speaker 1: two instances of security guards were unfortunately even killed over
Speaker 1: moss mandates that they were attempting to enforce. Well, you know,
Speaker 1: that was another group of people that you you you know,
Speaker 1: we we Genette already a little bit, but I do
Speaker 1: want to bring it back to the security guards, who
Speaker 1: are you know, ultimately being contracted to sort of fight
Speaker 1: these fights as as subcontractors. Really and and do we
Speaker 1: see that demand for that that job description continuing to
Speaker 1: go up in the mouth head? Oh? Absolutely. We talked
Speaker 1: to two different security guard company owners and both of
Speaker 1: them did anticipate that there would be a rise in
Speaker 1: business as a result of this new mandate. Uh And
Speaker 1: you know, one of the owners was was optimistic, he
Speaker 1: was hopeful that people would comply and that New Yorkers
Speaker 1: would understand. And then the other one was a little apprehensive.
Speaker 1: He he was nervous that his guard should be dealing
Speaker 1: with erratic people, especially tourists who are not from New
Speaker 1: York and perhaps once familiar with the policy to begin with,
Speaker 1: who might get very upset. You know what's interesting, too,
Speaker 1: is you talk about and I know we've touched upon
Speaker 1: this a little bit, but I do think about how
Speaker 1: restaurants are doing additional training. Right. We did it after
Speaker 1: the Me Too movement and as you know, certainly after
Speaker 1: George Floyd. Companies adapting in general to what's happening in
Speaker 1: our world, and that's the same thing for restaurant owners
Speaker 1: right that, you know, Polly, we have to see them
Speaker 1: maybe instituting new training for their workers so that they
Speaker 1: know how to handle these situations. They've got the tools
Speaker 1: to figure it out. Yeah, absolutely, And I'm sure they
Speaker 1: will also be looking to law enforcement in the most
Speaker 1: extreme situations, and law enforcement has had to do their
Speaker 1: own set of training as as they navigate this new
Speaker 1: and unusual world that we're living in. So so, Polly, um,
Speaker 1: you know, just bring it back to that Excelsior app
Speaker 1: and sort of like the technological solutions and then you know,
Speaker 1: the easy work around people will nevillly come up with
Speaker 1: um and and and with delta being what um um
Speaker 1: you know, just continues to be a bigger concern with people.
Speaker 1: Are people thinking that? But in the restaurant groups in particular,
Speaker 1: are people craving to be in restaurants right now still
Speaker 1: or are they Is it more of like uh taking
Speaker 1: a backseat, um to where we were kind of at
Speaker 1: the beginning of the pandemic. No, I think that people
Speaker 1: are still craving it. I definitely think that there will
Speaker 1: still be a market for it because it's important to
Speaker 1: understand that in New York City, we actually have a
Speaker 1: phenomenally high vaccination rate. New York is doing really well
Speaker 1: in vaccination, and I think that the Mayor's office and
Speaker 1: restaurateurs are hopeful that this will take it to the
Speaker 1: next level of vaccination rate. So I definitely think that
Speaker 1: there is still a big market and a big desire
Speaker 1: to be out and about, and you know, this policy
Speaker 1: may encourage some people who have been on the fence
Speaker 1: about vaccination to ultimately get that well. And you know,
Speaker 1: I also do wonder We've talked about this a lot,
Speaker 1: probably about you know, private sector public sector working together,
Speaker 1: and it does feel like restaurants have to be a
Speaker 1: little bit on pins and needles as new mandates come
Speaker 1: down from officials about how to do things, and then
Speaker 1: they've got their left kind of figuring it all out. Uh,
Speaker 1: And I do wonder if there'll be more collaboration to
Speaker 1: kind of help restaurants through this, especially when it's stricter policy. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: I think that's the biggest thing that we heard, both
Speaker 1: from the security guard company and from the restaurateurs is
Speaker 1: just we need more time. We need to figure out
Speaker 1: how this is going to work. You know, they do
Speaker 1: need to to get acclimated to this new policy. And
Speaker 1: I think that there's the shoes that they haven't even
Speaker 1: thought it yet. They will deal with when the time
Speaker 1: comes when people are ultimately showing up at their doors
Speaker 1: that have to prove that they're vascinating. PAULI, how many
Speaker 1: restaurants did you go to and the course of reporting
Speaker 1: this story and where do you most want to go
Speaker 1: that you didn't get to go to? Kate and yah,
Speaker 1: we we only got to visit a few restaurants in
Speaker 1: the course of reporting the story that we had talked
Speaker 1: to a whole bunch personally, I am really looking forward
Speaker 1: to being able to go out to ed Lobster. That
Speaker 1: is one of my favorite places in the city. It
Speaker 1: is a great place and I will certainly be dining
Speaker 1: there when there's all vaccinated inside. Well, I have to say,
Speaker 1: it does feel good to walk around New York. I've
Speaker 1: actually eaten out in a couple of restaurants um since
Speaker 1: they've opened up, and it felt so good to see
Speaker 1: the activity back. And I bet you know, Polly, if
Speaker 1: you tried to do this six months ago or something,
Speaker 1: it's just such a different scene. That's for sure. It
Speaker 1: definitely feels like there's life back in restaurants. And I
Speaker 1: think that for a lot of people who live in
Speaker 1: New York City and who love dining, this mandate will
Speaker 1: not to turn them. They will they will find a
Speaker 1: way to go out to eat, and you know, if
Speaker 1: they're really hesitant about the vaccine, they do always have
Speaker 1: the option of eating outdoors. That does remain an option
Speaker 1: even with this new policy. Not been easy, Joe, I've
Speaker 1: been the guy outside. I got a six year old,
Speaker 1: So anytime I have to go outside, I go outside,
Speaker 1: or anything we're going to do a restaurant, go outside,
Speaker 1: because I've got a kid. That is you know, mass
Speaker 1: Dubby's doing a great job, but I haven't really wanted
Speaker 1: to drag him inside. Um and now you know, I
Speaker 1: don't think he could since you know, he's a vaccine card.
Speaker 1: To show that's right, that's right, all right, listen, good
Speaker 1: uh story and certainly great to get an update on
Speaker 1: what's been really one of the most troubled sectors and
Speaker 1: hard hit sectors because of the pandemic. Polly Mysa and
Speaker 1: she is an investigative reporter here at Bloomberg News on
Speaker 1: the phone in New York and of course our thanks
Speaker 1: to Joe Webber, editor Bloomberg Business Week, joining us also
Speaker 1: on the remote access. I'm Broom Journal. Yeah, but you
Speaker 1: let me drive home, honey, please, I'll drivel. I don't
Speaker 1: want to drive, just drive. Good question trying. This is
Speaker 1: the drive to the globe. Give me thanks. We'll dry
Speaker 1: up to dawn on Bloomberg Radio. All right, just about
Speaker 1: ten and a half minutes left in today's trading session,
Speaker 1: getting ready to wrap up that Tuesday trade. And it's
Speaker 1: we mentioned we did see a record on the SMP
Speaker 1: five hundred. Will see will ultimately close there, You've got
Speaker 1: the Dow really the outperformer on a percentage basis, up
Speaker 1: about point four percent. Nasaca going in the other direction.
Speaker 1: All right, let's get to our next guest. He is
Speaker 1: Ryan Jacob. He's chairman, chief investment officer, portfolio manager Jacob
Speaker 1: Assett Management, the Jacob Internet Fun as we've mentioned before,
Speaker 1: continuing to beat just about all of its peers of
Speaker 1: the past five years. It's in the ninety percent. I'll
Speaker 1: according to data here at Bloomberg returning scent on average annually,
Speaker 1: the Jacob Discovery Fund and the Jacob SmallCap Growth also
Speaker 1: taught performers over the past five years. And Ryan with
Speaker 1: us on the phone from l A Ryan, good to
Speaker 1: have you here. How are you It seems like it's
Speaker 1: it's good. This year is turning out to be a
Speaker 1: pretty decent one for you guys. It has been um,
Speaker 1: you know, we had a very strong first quarter. The
Speaker 1: second quarter is a bit more challenging. But but overall, um,
Speaker 1: you know a lot of our companies have been performing
Speaker 1: and uh, it's reflected in the stock crisis. Well, how
Speaker 1: are you adjusting any of your portfolio holdings. I'm looking
Speaker 1: at some of your top holdings in your Internet fund,
Speaker 1: Voyage or Digital Digital Turbine, Twitter, Twilion, and these are
Speaker 1: I think as of the end of May, So maybe
Speaker 1: there's some some shift square zero, any changes that you've
Speaker 1: been actively making. Uh, We've been making some changes. I
Speaker 1: We still believe the biggest challenge this year is especially
Speaker 1: in the technology spaces, which companies can kind of build
Speaker 1: off of what was kind of a COVID bump last
Speaker 1: year and can continue to grow um this year and
Speaker 1: it maybe accelerate their growth off of what was a
Speaker 1: high base. There are a lot of companies that really
Speaker 1: had a sugar high from from you know, work at
Speaker 1: home lockdowns, etcetera, and have tailed off of it. I
Speaker 1: think that distinction is going to be the biggest challenge
Speaker 1: this year. Well, you know, and that's interesting, right because
Speaker 1: I think we obviously did see a lot of companies
Speaker 1: that benefited. As uncomfortable as that may have been to
Speaker 1: talk about it, nonetheless, there were definitely some pandemic plays.
Speaker 1: Which are the ones that you think are longer lasting. Well,
Speaker 1: US Digital Turbine, which reported last night UM is definitely
Speaker 1: one of those. The stock is actually off a little bit.
Speaker 1: Today's surprising to US. UM you know, been accelerating their growth.
Speaker 1: It's a triple digit grower even off of last year's results. Uh.
Speaker 1: Three recent acquisitions should be very additive to revenue and
Speaker 1: margins going forward. In cash flow. Uh and uh, you
Speaker 1: know they've benefited. They provide software for mostly Android devices
Speaker 1: for app installs. They saw a big bump last year,
Speaker 1: but because of their international distribution, that bump last year
Speaker 1: is accelerating into this year. And uh, you know, the
Speaker 1: revenue growth has been astounding and there's still a lot
Speaker 1: of room for margin improvement. All right, So have you
Speaker 1: allocated new money maintained the position. Yeah, it's it's still
Speaker 1: you know, the positions you mentioned are still our top group.
Speaker 1: You know, Zillo the stock isn't terrible in the last quarter,
Speaker 1: but the results, uh last week, we're we're tremendous and
Speaker 1: you know, the ie ying the Zillo homes. They've been
Speaker 1: advertising it more, expanding it, and it's resonating among consumers.
Speaker 1: You know, it's an astounding statistic that you know, two
Speaker 1: thirds of all home purchases at some point go through Zillo,
Speaker 1: and so it's an extremely valuable platform. And uh, you know,
Speaker 1: they continue to execute very well. So why is the
Speaker 1: stock down? It's down about so far this year, well
Speaker 1: off the high that we saw back in February where
Speaker 1: it was what I think around two hundred or so,
Speaker 1: now changing now trading it just below a hundred. Why
Speaker 1: what's the disconnect? Especially when you talk I think, yeah,
Speaker 1: I think a few reasons. Obviously, Um, you know, last
Speaker 1: year a huge boom in real estate and that's translate
Speaker 1: you know, that's also continued into this year, and there's
Speaker 1: concerns that that that that can't continue at that pace.
Speaker 1: We've also seen interest rates creep back up, and I
Speaker 1: think there's a lendering concern there that if rates uh
Speaker 1: go continue to rise, that could affect affordability. But I
Speaker 1: think there's a disconnect. I mean, the results have been
Speaker 1: outstanding and again, um, even though the real estate market
Speaker 1: made cool some uh you know, in terms of the
Speaker 1: stock performance, it's been a bit puzzling. It would be
Speaker 1: this week given their continued dominance of of the market.
Speaker 1: There's another name that you like, certainly, not one that
Speaker 1: we talked about a lot, but it's tickers O p
Speaker 1: r X Optimize er r Xcess is away for individuals
Speaker 1: consumers to save money right on branded prescription. Tell us
Speaker 1: little bit about this one, Well, think of it. Think
Speaker 1: of it almost like the good r X for doctors
Speaker 1: and insurgents, where um, what's happening is that they offer
Speaker 1: e coupon NG and other sorts of uh rebates for
Speaker 1: patients for different prescriptions, you know, as they're prescribed, and
Speaker 1: these are advertisements that are delivered through the electronic health
Speaker 1: record systems you know, directly the doctor when they're the
Speaker 1: point of point of prescribing. And they also it's it's
Speaker 1: a way for drug companies to get their brands in
Speaker 1: front of a very important audience. And this was a
Speaker 1: business that was taking off prior to COVID. Once all
Speaker 1: of the pharmaceutical reps could no longer go out in
Speaker 1: the field, no more industry conferences, a huge push towards
Speaker 1: digital advertising for these drug brands, and so they saw
Speaker 1: a huge adoption last year. And I think that as
Speaker 1: the drug companies have seen the effectiveness and the returns
Speaker 1: they were getting from this spending. Uh, there they became believers.
Speaker 1: And we're seeing an acceleration of the number of brands,
Speaker 1: number of enterprise deals, you know, across these global pharmaceutical companies.
Speaker 1: I think we're in the early stages of this, and
Speaker 1: Optimizes is an elite position here to deliver this kind
Speaker 1: of messaging. Hey, another name that you like because I
Speaker 1: know our audience likes here. I think you mentioned it.
Speaker 1: Voyage Digital. Uh, this is this is a cryptocurrency brokerage service. Uh.
Speaker 1: We've been talking about crypto in regards to infrastructure and
Speaker 1: getting some regulatory rules on the books. Here. What is
Speaker 1: it about Voyager Digital that you in particular like? It's
Speaker 1: about a two point three billion dollar market cap. Yeah,
Speaker 1: a Voyager we found a little less than a year ago,
Speaker 1: very tiny uh, you know, emerging kind of crypto broker
Speaker 1: that was founded by a former senior executive for me Trade,
Speaker 1: former CTO of Uber. We were very very impressed with
Speaker 1: the team they put together and there's their strategy and
Speaker 1: the executions been flawless. Obviously that the market for for
Speaker 1: cryptocurrencies has been booming and they've just been growing well
Speaker 1: ahead of our expectations. And even with the cool down
Speaker 1: and prices, Um, you know, they're still doing exceptionally well
Speaker 1: and they're really carving out a niche. They're not coin based,
Speaker 1: you know, coin bas is still I believe they report
Speaker 1: tonight and obviously one of the largest global players. But Voyager,
Speaker 1: for a small upstart, has done a tremendous job. And uh,
Speaker 1: you know, I've really done a lot of innovative things
Speaker 1: that have a lot of expansion plans that that are
Speaker 1: very promising. What I'm wondering too, rhyme. You know, for
Speaker 1: our audience we talk a lot about crypto obviously, um,
Speaker 1: what would be your advice to them when they look
Speaker 1: at it, because it's still a developing market. There's a
Speaker 1: lot of cryptocurrencies are out there, and I think many
Speaker 1: would say that the dust still has to settle in
Speaker 1: terms of how this plays out. We're waiting to see
Speaker 1: what kind of regulatory oversight ultimately. Will have just got
Speaker 1: about thirty seconds here. How what's your advice to investor,
Speaker 1: especially since you are picking names in this space. I'll
Speaker 1: try to make it quick. We definitely see echoes of
Speaker 1: kind of the emergence of the Internet years prior. People
Speaker 1: understand that it's probably here to stay at this point.
Speaker 1: The technology makes too much sense, there's too much utility
Speaker 1: for it. But they're really trying to wrap their heads around,
Speaker 1: you know, how to value these companies. You know how
Speaker 1: they're going to be implemented, and this adoption is going
Speaker 1: to take some time, and it's gonna be very challenging
Speaker 1: to try to value so the opportunities there, but you
Speaker 1: do have to be careful. All Right, We're gonna leave
Speaker 1: it on that note. Listen, Ryan, thank you so much,
Speaker 1: really appreciate it. Ryan Jacobs, chief investment Officer and portfolio
Speaker 1: manager at Jacob Assett Management, on the phone from Los Angeles.
Speaker 1: All Right, folks, it is time for our Bloomberg TV
Speaker 1: team to join us for Beyond the Bell. It's live
Speaker 1: on Bloomberg Radio Bloomberg TV and YouTube counting you. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening to Bloomberg Business Week. Download the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud,
Speaker 1: or Bloomberg dot com, and you can also listen to
Speaker 1: our radio show at two pm Eastern on Bloomberg Radio
Speaker 1: or watch us on YouTube. Search to Bloomberg Global News